The present invention relates to closure members for containers, bottles and the like, and, more particularly, to closure members which are particularly well adapted for use on dispensing containers for medicinal agents.
Present medical drugs have a predetermined therapeutic range in which the effects of taking the drug are beneficial. Under-utilization of a drug may endanger the user with the drug's side effects without reaching levels necessary for a therapeutic action. On the other hand, over-utilization may cause side effects or toxicity to a much greater extent than any possible benefit. Thus, it is critically important that a patient follow prescribed directions on medications; yet, frequently patients forget whether they have taken medication and either omit doses or repeat them.
This problem is particularly severe for elderly patients who are generally beset with multiple ailments requiring numerous drugs and directions. The fading memory and confusion that come with age further compound the problem. Oftentimes, elderly patients could well lead independent self-sufficient lives but for their inability to follow a therapeutic regimen necessary to their health and well-being. Caps of the "reminder" type will be an important adjunct in drug therapy as the number of elderly people increases and new potent drugs are utilized.
The reminder cap of the present invention affords improvements over closure members of the type known in the art. Such closure members are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,664,452, issued July 7, 1953 to F. E. Brown; U.S. Pat. No. 2,767,680, issued Oct. 23, 1956 to H. B. Lermer; U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,276, issued Jan., 1963 to Nichols, U.S. Pat. No. 3,151,599, issued Oct. 6, 1964 to R. J. Livingston; U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,713, issued June 1, 1976 to H. L. Carey; U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,829, issued Mar. 15, 1977 to D. B. Wachsmann et al.; and my own U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,247 issued Sept. 2, 1980.